Natural Alchemist

Simple tribal botanists pass what they can from generation to generation. Even the most warlike clan chiefs realize careful cultivation is the key to survival in harsh and unforgiving lands. The long-neglected art of herbalism and the science of alchemy intertwine to create something entirely new—a practice that has flourished and given rise to the renowned natural alchemists.

Hit Die: d6.

Requirements

To qualify to become a natural alchemist, a character must fulfill all the following criteria.

Class Features

The following are class features of the natural alchemist prestige class.

Weapon and Armor Proficiency

A natural alchemist gains no additional weapon or armor proficiencies.

Extracts or Spells per Day

When a natural alchemist gains a level, she gains new extracts or spells per day as if she had also gained a level in alchemist or in an arcane spellcasting class to which she belonged before adding the prestige class. She does not, however, gain other benefits a character of that class would have gained, except for additional extracts or spells per day, spells known (if she is a spontaneous caster), and an increased effective caster level for extracts or spells.

If she had more than one arcane spellcasting class before becoming a natural alchemist, or had the alchemist class and an arcane spellcasting class, she must decide to which class she adds the new level for the purpose of determining extracts or spells per day.

Healing Solution (Su)

A natural alchemist learns how to convert magical reagents into life-giving admixtures. As a full-round action, she can convert the magical energies of two extracts or spells of 1st level into a special extract of cure light wounds. This acts as an infused extract, but it must be used before the end of her next turn or its power is lost. At 3rd level and every 2 levels thereafter, a natural alchemist gains the ability to convert extracts or spells into more powerful forms of curative magic:

The natural alchemist must still meet all prerequisites for a natural discovery, including level restrictions. Natural alchemist class levels stack with alchemist levels for the purpose of qualifying for and using these discoveries (but not others). Natural discoveries cannot be selected by characters without natural alchemist levels.

New Discoveries

Bottled Elemental (Su) This functions like the bottled ooze discovery, but allows the natural alchemist to instead reconstitute an elemental that bursts forth when the bottle is broken. Creating a bottled elemental requires an extract 1 level lower than the elemental’s CR (minimum 1st level). The natural alchemist must have the bottled ooze discovery and be at least 8th level before selecting this discovery.

Capture Elemental (Sp) A natural alchemist can capture an elemental inside a specially prepared bottle, vial, or flask, as if using trap the soul as a spell-like ability, though this ability affects only elementals. Preparing the bottle costs 500 gp per Hit Die of the elemental to be trapped and takes 1 day per 1,000 gp of value. If the natural alchemist tries to capture an elemental with too many Hit Dice, the bottle shatters. The natural alchemist must have the bottled elemental discovery and be at least 12th level before selecting this discovery.

Extra Curative Enhancement (Ex) The natural alchemist can select one additional curative enhancement that she can incorporate into her healing solution.

Shared Infusion (Su)

When a natural alchemist creates an infusion extract of a spell that normally affects multiple targets, the extract can affect a number of targets equal to her Intelligence bonus (up to the maximum normally allowed for the spell), though each creature must use a standard action to imbibe the extract. Only creatures that drink from the extract within 1 round of when the first imbiber starts drinking it are affected. A natural alchemist must have the infusion discovery before selecting this discovery.

Bombs

At 3rd level and every 3 levels thereafter, a natural alchemist adds 1d6 points of damage to her bomb damage, gains one additional bomb per day, and treats her alchemist level as 1 higher for the purpose of qualifying for discoveries that affect her bombs. A character without alchemist levels gains the bombs ability of an alchemist whose level is equal to 1/3 her natural alchemist level.

Curative Enhancement (Su)

At 3rd level and every 2 levels thereafter, a natural alchemist can select one curative enhancement. Whenever the natural alchemist creates a healing solution by expending two extracts or spells, she may reduce the amount of hit point damage cured by one step (reducing a healing solution of cure moderate wounds to one of cure light wounds, for instance) in order to apply any number of her curative enhancements to her healing solution. These enhancements can remove conditions caused by curses, diseases, or poisons even if they do not remove the underlying affliction itself; the conditions return after 1 hour unless the curative enhancement actually removes the affliction that causes the condition.

At 3rd level, a natural alchemist can select one of the following conditions that her healing solution can remove: fatigued, shaken, or sickened.